Hearing the prompt from the Heavenly Profound Mirror, Li Fan's eyes narrowed instantly.
"The Mind-Ascending Immortality Pill is only ranked over three thousandth in hazard level? Just what kind of things have the cultivators of the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals cooked up over all these years?"
Although a certain previous plan had fallen through, Li Fan was not particularly surprised.
After all, for the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals, stability came above all else.
Any item capable of destabilizing the situation was bound to be strictly controlled.
Consider this: if a Dao Integration cultivator addicted to the Mind-Ascending Immortality Pill were to suffer withdrawal cravings, just how destructive would that be?
It would be abnormal if it weren't banned.
"What bloody bad luck! It's actually a damn contraband item!" Li Fan put on an expression of bitter misfortune before the Heavenly Profound Mirror.
"Still, no matter what, I went to great pains to get my hands on it! Rather than destroy it..." Li Fan let a glint of ferocity show in his eyes. "I might as well swallow it myself!"
With that, right in front of the Heavenly Profound Mirror, he made as if to swallow the pill in a single gulp.
"Warning: upon ingesting the Mind-Ascending Immortality Pill, the cultivator will undergo imprisonment and detoxification for a duration corresponding to their potential threat level. This will inflict irreversible damage upon the cultivator's body and mind."
"Warning..."
Li Fan's body stiffened slightly, and his motion to swallow the pill halted on the spot.
Cursing under his breath, Li Fan crushed the Mind-Ascending Immortality Pill to dust in his grip.
"Are you happy now?!"
"No, I can't let this go! That bastard dared to swindle me—I'm going to settle scores with him!"
Seemingly growing angrier the more he thought about it, Li Fan immediately left the Heavenly Profound Mirror, exited Luoyan City, and flew deep into the wilderness.
Only when he reached a desolate, uninhabited place and confirmed no one was following did he finally come to a stop.
Turning into an escape light, he dove deep underground and skillfully excavated a secret chamber.
Then Li Fan reconsolidated the bit of Mind-Ascending Immortality Pill powder he had deliberately preserved in his hand.
A moment later, a miniature pill, dozens of times smaller than the original, appeared in his palm.
He split it in two, stared at one half, and swallowed it.
It was not that Li Fan's craving had kicked in; he was testing a certain conjecture in his mind.
The miniature pill dissolved the moment it touched his tongue, turning into a warm current that instantly flowed throughout his body.
His head grew slightly dizzy. In a daze, Li Fan felt as though he had once again caught sight of that crisscrossing cosmic web he had seen when comprehending the Dao using Humanity Stardust!
What was more, this time it was a hundred times clearer than before.
It seemed right before his eyes, within arm's reach. The supreme principles of heaven and earth were laid bare before him without reservation!
Li Fan's eyes widened involuntarily as he tried to see it more clearly.
Just then, the pill's effects faded.
The scene before him shattered and vanished like flowers in a mirror or the moon on water.
An unspeakable emptiness suddenly surged into Li Fan's heart.
"Damn it! Just a little more!"
"The principles of heaven and earth were so close to me..."
"Quick, have Liu San refine more right away!"
Thoughts like these invaded Li Fan's mind in an instant, swirling like a violent gale.
Li Fan shot to his feet, yet did not leave the chamber.
Instead, a savage expression twisted his face.
"I seek to become an immortal—why should I stoop to begging mere pills?"
"For ordinary people, once an opportunity for immortality is lost, they might regret it for the rest of their lives. But as for me..."
"An opportunity of a moment is an opportunity of eternity. It is inexhaustible and endless! If I miss it in this lifetime, there is the next. If I miss it in the next lifetime, there is still the one after that!"
...
Li Fan pitted his own willpower against the pill's lingering effects.
His face contorted, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.
With all his might, he fought against the desires rampaging inside him like wild horses breaking free of their reins.
Just like that, nearly half a day passed.
After all, it had only been a trace of powder rather than a full Mind-Ascending Immortality Pill. Li Fan had actually managed to endure the addiction through sheer grit.
The flood of stray thoughts receded like an ebbing tide. When he thought of the Mind-Ascending Immortality Pill again, not a shred of craving remained.
"This thing is truly terrifying. If it were a complete pill, my willpower alone probably still wouldn't be able to resist the temptation."
"However, with the aid of the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Incantation, it will be a different story."
Li Fan exhaled a long breath, gathered his spirits, and swallowed the remaining half-pill.
The instant desire welled up, he circulated the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Incantation.
Just like before, Li Fan once again saw the vast web woven of the principles of heaven and earth.
Yet under the empowerment of the Immortal Heart Incantation, Li Fan's mind was as still as water, devoid of the slightest impulse.
Thus, Li Fan quietly waited for the effect to pass.
When the illusion before his eyes abruptly vanished and the emptiness and longing surged up once more, the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Incantation turned slowly. Before those myriad desires could affect Li Fan's mind, they were instantly absorbed, turning into nourishment for the incantation.
"To falsely claim immortality before a true immortal is nothing short of laughable." Li Fan's heart did not ripple in the slightest.
"In any case, one thing has been confirmed: taking this Mind-Ascending Immortality Pill can aid in cultivating the Xuanhuang Immortal Heart Incantation, without having to worry about side effects." Once the desires subsided, Li Fan ceased circulating the incantation.
For now, he could not maintain the Immortal Heart Incantation permanently as an innate reflex like breathing. Perhaps only when he completed the incantation would he achieve such an effect.
After leaving the underground chamber and setting off toward Tianling Province, a thought suddenly crossed Li Fan's mind.
"The principles of heaven and earth seen upon ingesting the Mind-Ascending Immortality Pill are merely an illusion that borders on reality. No matter how many one consumes, there cannot be any substantive enlightenment. But viewed from the other side, what if someone saw the true principles of heaven and earth—ones that cultivators are doomed never to comprehend? Would the effect be even better?"
"After all, no matter how realistic an illusion is, it cannot compare to real existence."
"A pill that genuinely helps cultivators comprehend the Dao shouldn't be banned by the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals. And among a batch of pills containing ineffective principles, slip in one or two containing principles of heaven and earth that cultivators actually can comprehend..."
Lost in reverie, the corners of Li Fan's mouth curled into an eerie smile.
When Li Fan arrived in Tianling City, he temporarily set his thoughts aside.
He headed straight for a shop selling Tianling Flowers in the city.
"Shopkeeper, give me a pot of Tianling Flowers," Li Fan said.
"Right away! Guest, please step this way. From sixteen to twenty petals, our shop has every fine variety you could want," the shopkeeper greeted him warmly.
After scanning the dozens of Tianling Flowers arranged in the shop, Li Fan's expression darkened at once.
"Are you taking advantage of me because I'm an outsider? Do these damned things even deserve the name 'Tianling'?"
"Why is there a bizarre bloody color flowing through all these flowers?! What an absolute eyesore!"
Li Fan barked angrily, his voice rolling like thunder. It immediately drew the attention of many nearby cultivators.
"Oh, my dear guest, you don't know the half of it! Ever since a few years ago, every single Tianling Flower that grows here has ended up like this!"
The shopkeeper explained with a wry smile.
Chapter 674